Developing effective skills in Organizational communication

This is a very important concept in any working environment. The concept of effective skills in organizational communication is crucial. According to The Essential Guide to Group Communication by O'hair and Wiemann, it states that there are two ways of communication : Formal and Informal.

 A formal communication channel represents the hierarchy that an employee has to go through to communicate with his superiors / co-workers. This formal communication requires every employees to go through a particular format to reach another person. For example, as the textbook states, an entry level employee cannot send an e-mail to a Vice -President. He would have to get it approved by his Director, and if the e-mail is approved by the Director it can be sent to the Vice President. Another must, is that employees are supposed to send memos and letters, instead of text messages, or a face - to - face conversation. this type of communication ladder is called a formal channel of communication.

An informal channel is quite opposite to the formal channel. The informal channel is also known as the "grapevine" channel.There is more freedom provided to the employees in an informal channel. An employee can send an e-mail to his Vice President, without the e-mail getting approved by his Director.

There are many other small criterias that are required in each channel. Over all it is important for us, employees, to know which type of channel that particular company opts with. So know when and where to talk to your superiors or subordinates. Also know how to talk and handle different things, by taking into consideration the mode of communication and its channel.