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Keywords
Organizational Communication, Organizational Change, Communication Objectives, Business Organizations.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to recognize and discuss the significance of effective communication during the process of managing changes in organizations. The paper reviews the literature investigating the relationship between communication and organizational change. The advantages of successful communication related to improved efforts of employees to plan and execute change strategies are also discussed. This paper also identifies the objectives and communication needs for each stage of the change process. Also, the various motives and benefits of organizational communication are discussed.
It defines the organizational communication and presents its various objectives. The means to achieve these objectives and their advantages are also described. The paper offers a change communication model which identifies different variables facilitating effective communication and finally ensuring successful organizational change.Also, it highlights the aspects of communication which has proven to be useful for successful changes in business organizations. It would be of value to practitioners and researchers seeking to develop their communication skills and encourage members of staffto demonstrate improved results.
Introduction
Organizational change has widely become an area of focus in management literature. Despite the growing significance and research, many of the attempts to generate organizational change fail. Recent studies reveal that change efforts often suffer a dismal fate. Some research indicates a failure rate of one-third to two-thirds of major change initiatives (Beer & Nohria, 2000; Bibler, 1989); more pessimistic results suggest a higher rate of failure (Burns, 2004) that may reach up to 80 to 90 percent (Cope, 2003) or may make the situation even worse (Beer et al., 1990). Researchers have found that at least more than half of all the organizational change programs do not reach the results which they intended to produce (Bennebroek et al., 1999). Poorly managed change communication results in rumors and resistance to change and enlarging the negative aspects of the change (DiFonzo et al., 1994; Smelzer & Zener 1992). Communication is considered to be vital for the effective implementation of organizational change (DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998).
The importance of communication during intended change has been empirically demonstrated and commonly agreed among practitioners. The empirical picture appeared indicated that organizational change and communication process are inextricably related processes (Lewis, 1999)....