What Is the Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Communication?

The so-called organizational communication is the exchange and communication of information among organizational members, between internal organizations, and between the organization and the larger social environment. Specifically, organizational communication is a network formed by various interdependent relationships. To cope with the uncertainty of the external environment, it is also the process of creating and exchanging information in order to complete the organizational goals.

Organize communication

1. Internal coordination

Organizational communication includes both internal and external communication. These two aspects are the guarantee of information communication necessary for the survival and development of the organization. Their dissemination has different characteristics, and while they promote each other, they also restrict each other to some extent.

Organizational Communication

(I) Formal channels for communication within the organization

Information flows through the organization along certain organizational activities (departments, positions, positions, and their affiliation or parallel relationships). Its transmission forms can be divided into two types, namely horizontal transmission and vertical transmission. Generally speaking, horizontal communication has strong bidirectionality, and the interactive channels are unblocked. Vertical communication has a one-way flow. Therefore, according to the flow of information, vertical transmission is divided into downward transmission and upward transmission.

Downward propagation

Information about the organization's goals, tasks, guidelines, and policies is communicated from top to bottom. In terms of corporate organization, Japanese scholar Kawaura Koichi believes that the most common downward communication of corporate organizations is mainly in five aspects:

(1) Instructions or descriptions of tasks and contents

(2) Information on the rights and obligations of members of the organization

(3) Information on the responsibilities, authorities and interrelationships of departments and positions

(4) Evaluation and reward and punishment information of the supervisors of the work unit

(5) Information on the purpose, philosophy, and social role or contribution of the organization ^[3] The role of downward communication, including adapting organizational members to the organizational environment, understanding the work content, familiarizing themselves with their responsibilities, rights, and obligations, and cultivating members' Sense of oneness, etc. It is a communication activity focusing on instruction, education, persuasion and indoctrination.

2. Upward propagation

The subordinate department reports the situation to the superior department or subordinate to the boss, and puts forward information, suggestions, wishes and requirements. This process is very important and has three aspects: First, upward communication is an important channel for the central command and management department to obtain information feedback. Through this channel, command managers can understand the implementation of the organization's goals or tasks on the front line, and modify the established decisions accordingly to make them more realistic. Second, grassroots departments or front-line personnel are the window of the organization. They often have first-hand information on changes in the external environment. These new information are reflected and can become an important basis for the organization to make new contingency decisions. Thirdly, upward communication is an important channel for grasping the mental state of the members of the organization. The command manager can take timely measures to adjust the members' mood and morale to the ideal state required by the organization according to the conditions reflected below.

3. Horizontal spread

The activities of exchange and information exchange among members of the same department within the organization are for the purpose of coordination and cooperation. In horizontal communication, the two parties of the communication do not have a clerical relationship between superiors and subordinates, and equal consultation and communication are the main forms of communication. Whether horizontal communication is active is of great significance to the organization. In an organization, horizontal communication must be guaranteed by the system.

(2) Informal channels of communication within the organization

Information dissemination channels other than institutional organization relations. There are two main forms of communication in informal channels: first, interpersonal communication within the organization (conversations outside the organization members' work, various private interactions inside and outside the unit, etc.); Innovation team, etc.)

Features of informal channels of communication:

(1) Extensive communication information (2) Two-way equality of communication (3) Many components of intentional communication and emotional communication

(Three) the form of media disseminated within the organization

1. Written media. Documents, reports, letters, etc. written in writing.

2. Meeting. A form of communication in which multiple individuals gather in the same place for discussion.

3. Phone. Each department and post of a modern organization is generally interconnected by a telephone system.

4. Public media within the organization, such as the newspapers and closed-circuit television systems of some large enterprises.

5. Computer communication system.

There are many other media used in organizational communication, such as telex, photocopying, and so on.

Organizational communication

The process of information interaction between an organization and its external environment includes two aspects of information input and information output.

(1) Organized information input activities

Information input is an organization's extensive collection and processing of information from the outside for objective management and environmental contingency decisions.

(II) Organized information output activities

Organizing any externally related activities and their results has the nature of information output. There are mainly organized and planned publicity activities. The main types are:

1. Public relations promotion. Organize various promotional activities to establish and maintain a harmonious relationship with the social environment in which they live.

2. Advertising. Advertising is a large-scale publicity campaign using various media in the form of payment, and it is also an information output method widely used by social organizations, especially business organizations.

3. Publicity of corporate identity system. (CIS) Corporate organizations use a unified system of symbols to shape, maintain, or update their corporate image.

Organizational communication differences

There are still differences in the process of intra-organizational dissemination and out-of-organizational dissemination. The specific manifestations are as follows:

1. Formality of communication channels

Intra-organizational communication includes formal and informal channels, while out-of-organizational communication uses more formal channels. There are vertical (including ascending and descending) and horizontal communication in the formal channels of communication within the organization, while horizontal communication is more used in the formal means of communication outside the organization.

The communication in formal channels reflects the characteristics of organization members as "organizational people", while the communication in informal channels reflects their characteristics as "social people." It should be noted that with the development of computer technology, both outside and inside the organization rely more and more on network technology. Networks are divided into intranets and the Internet. Intranets mainly implement communication within the organization, while the Internet more often implements communication outside the organization.

2. Form of communication

The forms of communication within the organization include written media, conferences, telephones, public media and computer communication systems within the organization, while the use of mass media and advertising is the main form of out-of-organization communication. Its main forms are public relations, advertising, and corporate identity. System (CIS) promotion. Specifically, the forms of communication within the organization are employee meetings, business communications, internal magazines, work manuals, work memos, payrolls, closed-circuit television, announcements, electronic bulletin boards, slides, DVDs, and movies, while the forms of communication outside the organization There are: advertising, annual reports, public services, media promotion (and all its public relations methods), community projects, lobbying projects, various public promotion projects, etc.

It should be pointed out that there is another important form of out-of-organization communication, which is the communication between organizations. The organization-to-organization communication also requires specific analysis. If there is a systemic relationship between the organization and that organization, such as the exchange of information by the public prosecution law for handling cases, this undoubtedly belongs to organizational dissemination. In fact, this should be seen as a horizontal within the larger organizational system. propagation. If there is no systemic relationship between the organization and the organization's interactions, such as the exchange of information between mutually independent companies carrying out economic activities, it is not internal communication, not organizational communication. In terms of legal status, the organization in such independent occasions is a "fabricator", that is, a legal person or a quasi-legal person. The information exchange between them seems to have similarities with the information exchange between people, which can be compared. For interpersonal communication,

The dissemination of out-of-organization communication also cannot ignore the importance of such communication. If it is not handled properly, it will affect the normal operation of the organization. This behavior is regarded by many as an attack on the Guangzhou Daily by the Southern Metropolis Daily, affecting the relationship between the Southern Daily and the Guangzhou Daily. Another important relationship between organizations is the relationship between different organizations and the government. "Relationships" are very important for Chinese companies. It first involves relations with the government. Although the Chinese government is gradually weakening its intervention in enterprises? However, the government's influence on enterprises cannot be ignored.

There is also a more subtle out-of-organizational communication, which is unconscious out-of-organizational communication. In a broad sense, any externally related activities of an organization and its results have the nature of information output, especially the information output activities of out-of-organization communication. Products produced and sold by the enterprise organization, employees' images, mental outlook, and even the company's buildings all carry and output a wealth of information.

3. Communication function goals

The primary goal of intra-organizational communication is to achieve the integration of members within the organization and the convergence of values. Organizational integration refers to the formation of a collective identity among organizational members and the creation of a unified value, so as to realize how to work together most effectively. Scholars call this function as intra-organizational assimilation, that is, the process by which members of an organization learn about certain cultural rules, models, and expectations, and become members of that culture over time. means. It also makes its members reach consensus through a series of activities, such as many companies hold some training before new employees go to work or regularly, through military training, teamwork training; and the primary goal of communication outside the organization is to adapt to the environment . That is, the organization communicates with the outside world in order to achieve its work goals. It helps an organization to respond quickly to customer responses and competitors' actions. To achieve its organizational goals, it must be aligned with the social environment. Specifically, this adaptation is divided into coordinating inter-organizational relationships, creating and maintaining organizational image, and providing services to customers. Specifically, the role of communication outside the organization is to promote social advertising products, shape a beautiful organizational image, influence the public opinion of the organization, and inform the changes of the social organization; and the role of communication within the organization is internal coordination, organization Safety, organizational change and development, employee morale and satisfaction, and internal compensation and benefits.

4. Communication agencies

The departments that implement out-of-organization communication are divided into information input departments and information output departments. Information is input from the marketing department, investigation room, planning department or marketing department of the enterprise or external experts, consulting agencies and scientific research institutes for feasibility studies. Information output activities include public relations and advertising. However, most of the organizations that achieve dissemination within the organization are enterprise unions and personnel.

5. Transmission range

There is no doubt that out-of-organization communication has a wide range of contacts because it deals with the entire society. With the development of society and the increase of various organizations' interactions with the outside world, out-of-organization communication has become more and more important. There is a growing trend in the importance of out-of-organization communications.

6. Communication skills

The forms of organizational communication can be divided into downward communication, upward communication and horizontal communication. Downward communication is the process of conveying and implementing information about organizational goals, tasks, guidelines, and policies from top to bottom. It is a communication activity focused on instruction, education, persuasion and indoctrination. Upward communication refers to the information transmission activities of subordinate departments or subordinates reporting to the boss and making suggestions, wishes and requirements. Horizontal communication refers to the activities of communication and information exchange between departments or members at the same level in the organization. The purpose is to coordinate and cooperate with each other. At this time, the two parties of the communication do not have a subordinate relationship, and equal consultation and liaison are the main forms of communication. Because of different targets, the communication skills of internal and external communication are quite different. Although all three types of communication can be used for internal and external communication, it uses informal communication methods more. For example, interpersonal communication and personal talk can get better communication within the organization, and the charm of the founders or CEOs of many companies is often reflected. There are also talks outside the work of the organization members, various personal contacts inside and outside the unit, various self-organized innovation groups, interest groups and fraternities, etc. Efficient intra-organizational communication depends on the ability of the members of the organization to listen, elaborate, ask questions and give feedback. Relative to intra-organizational communication, because an organization is mostly in parallel with external organizations, out-of-organizational communication is more horizontal. It is much more formal. For this reason, out-of-organization communications often need to develop a practical public relations plan, including who to promote, how to publicize, who is responsible for publicity, time management, public relations expenses, and so on.

7. Dissemination of content

In a broad sense, the organization of any external-related activities and their structure has the nature of information output, but what we call out-of-organization communication generally refers to the organization of purposeful and planned information output activities, that is, the organization's publicity activities . Out-of-organization communication mainly includes public relations and media promotion, which include corporate advertisements or promotions, promoting the public image of the organization, helping the public understand the company and its products, media public relations, government public relations, and how to attract investors in the stock market.

Although the two differ greatly. The two have a close relationship in the normal operation of an organization, as shown in:

1. The two kinds of transmission promote each other

It is not difficult to understand that intra-organizational communication and extra-organizational communication promote each other. The external communication of an organization is harmonious, and of course, it will promote the relationships and exchanges among its members. Similarly, the smooth internal communication of an organization will also bring convenience to its external exchanges, and the image of unity and upwards within the organization itself will give a good impression to the outside world and also spread the image of the organization. There are many examples of this in state-to-state diplomacy. For example: out-of-organization communications (such as advertising and public relations). Good internal communication is a kind of paste, which is conducive to the unity and cooperation of internal members of the organization, and achieve the external communication goals of the organization. There is no doubt that the internal communication of an organization is smooth, and it has also strengthened the unity and cooperation within the organization. It also gives a good impression to the outside world, which is also conducive to interaction outside the organization. It is not difficult to understand this relationship based on the experience in our lives.

2. The two are also mutually restrictive

Intra-organizational communication and out-of-organizational communication are not always mutually reinforcing and mutually restricting. In 2003, the chairman of the BBC board under the influence of the Kelly incident, Davis, the general manager, Dike Xiang, and the BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan, who caused the Kelly turmoil, resigned, and caused BBC employees to hold a demonstration on the 29th in London. Some common examples of state-to-state diplomacy are the breakdown of diplomatic negotiations between the two countries, which often lead to internal demonstrations, demonstrations, and even internal chaos. Civil unrest in a country or region also attracts the attention of the external international community and often takes measures such as international mediation. If the internal communication is absent or not done well, it will affect the organizational image in external communication, such as the spread of rumors. According to American psychologist G. W. Alport's rumor formula "the rumor circulation R is proportional to the product of the importance of the problem i and the ambiguousness of the evidence a." That is, R = i × a. In other words, the more important events, the more uncertain events, the stronger rumors can form. Of course, the more vague the spread within the organization, the more the truth of the event will be blurred, which will speed up the spread of rumors and spread to the whole outside. surroundings.

Intra-organizational communication and out-of-organizational communication are not only restricted, improperly handled, but even conflicted. Conflicts of communication within and outside the organization may also manifest as conflicts between persons engaged in these two types of communication, such as conflicts of interest between the advertising department and the personnel department. In addition, an organization's human, material, and financial resources are certain. If an organization pays too much attention to internal communication, it will affect external communication. On the contrary, too much attention to the relationship between the organization and society will also affect the normal communication and operation within the organization. CCTV advertising kings, such as the Confucius Banquet in 1995 and 1996, Qin Chi in 1997, and Aiduo VCD in 1998, were mostly overshadowed by the end. Although there are many reasons for the decline of an enterprise, an important reason that cannot be ignored is that these companies have invested too much of their limited financial resources in advertising and corporate public relations, which has affected the internal operations of the enterprise. Internal communication is impossible to talk about.

It is important to point out that although government at all levels is an organization, of course, it is necessary to conduct organizational communication, but this is a special organizational communication-government communication is not a real organizational communication, but a special one. Different from ordinary enterprises. Government communication is different from other organizations because it has the authority of the subject, the exclusivity of information, the passiveness of the media, the non-selective acceptance of the audience, and its huge influence. spinning

Propagation is the blood for the normal functioning of an organization. Organizations without transmission are unimaginable. It is equally important to ignore the differences and connections between intra- and extra-organizational communication in organizational communication. The dissertation on the differences and connections within and outside the organization is particularly inadequate. And the normal operation of the organization can not leave the coordinated development between the two. Only by recognizing this can we effectively ensure the smooth flow of organizational information and the normal work of the organization.