EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AS A STRATEGY FOR ENHANCING ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0.         Background to the Study

“Communication refers to the process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). The word communication has a rich and complex history. It first appeared in English language in the fourteen century, taken from the Latin word communication which means to impact, share or make common. Bateman (2002), defined communication as the transmission of information and meaning from one party to another through the use of shared symbol.It is a well known fact that communication plays a coordinal and integrating role in the management of the affairs of any organization whether in the function of planning, organizing, staffing, leading or controlling. Communication is one of the primary areas for understanding human behavior, Rami (2000). Communication is an essential tool for management, which is used to carry the whole organization as  a single being.

Communication is an integral part of the organizational process as the flow of communication up and down the organizational hierarchy has its effects on efficiency, decision- making and morale of organizations. Thus, effective communication is regarded as the foundation of organizations today (Witherspoon, 1997; Von Krogh e al., 2000). Communication strategies are common in the business world, where they are used as part of a business plan, detailing how to communicate with various groups of people.

A single business may have multiple strategies for different categories of people, such as clients, investors, competitors or employees. Some companies even have an internal communication strategy for communicating within the business itself. These strategies are used to determine things like what information to share with the clients or investors, as well as how that information should be presented.

Communication is applied to all phase of managing. It is particularly important in the function of leading. Communication is critical for all level of human behavior man’s ability to think and transmit the thought through the communication process, provides the binding element for social interaction. The relation success or failure of human endeavor depend to a great extent upon the effectiveness of communication

          According to Drucker (1985), the management effectiveness depends on his ability to listen and to read on his ability to speak and to write. Unfortunately, the importance of communication has not been well recognized in business. It is generally believed that anyone with common sense can write. Most managers write to impress not to express. Effective communication is a fundamental aspect of job performance and managerial effectiveness. Communication is a vital management component to any organization whether the purpose is to mainly update employees on new polices to prepare for a weather disaster to ensure safety throughout the organization or to listen to the attitude of employees; effective communication is an integral issue in effective management.

          The purpose of the paper is to recognize and discuss the significance of effective communication during the process of managing changes in organizations. The paper reviews the literature investigation the relationship between communication and organizational change. The advantages of successful communication related to improved efforts of employees to plan and execute strategies are also discussed. The 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. The paper offers a change communication model which identifies different variables facilitating effective communication and finally ensuring successful organizational change. Also, it highlights the aspect of communication which has proven to be useful for successful changes in business organization. In the uncertain and always changing times or any situation, communication is critical between leadership and its member. To assure a steady and meaningful flow of information, human resource leader can play and should play a strategic role in assuring effective communication is delivered in a meaningful two-way process i.e. sending a message and receiving a proper feedback. It has been observed over the years that effective communication has been a strategy for organization that has been performing well. It has ensured a cordial relationship between management of an organization and its employees.

1.1.Profile of Nigeria Brewery Plc (NBL).  Mission

"To be the leading beverage company in Nigeria, marketing high quality brands to deliver superior customer satisfaction in an environmentally friendly way”.

  Vision

To be a world class Company”.

 Core Values

·        Respect for individuals, the society and the environment.

·        Performance: A culture of high performance to deliver outstanding value to our stakeholders.

·        Passion for Quality: Not just for our products but also in everything we do.

·        Enjoyment: We bring enjoyment to people through our high quality products, communications and sponsorship activities

 Company’s Overview:

 Nigeria Brewery Plc is Nigeria’s pioneer and largest Brewing firm. The company was incorporated in 1946 and in June 1949, we recorded a landmark when the first bottle of STAR lager beer rolled off our Lagos Brewery bottling lines. This first brewery in Lagos has undergone several optimization processes and as at today boasts of one of the most modern brew house in the country.

In 1957, NBL commissioned its second brewery in Aba. The Aba Brewery has also recently undergone several optimization processes and has been fitted with best in brewery technology. In 1963 commissioned the  Kaduna Brewery while Ibadan Brewery came on stream in 1982. In 1993, acquired her  fifth brewery in Enugu. A sixth brewery, sited at Ama-eke in 9th Mile, Enugu was commissioned and christened Ama Brewery in October 2003. Ama Brewery is today the biggest and most modern brewery in Nigeria.

In October 2011, the  company bought majority equity interests in Sona Systems Associates Business Management Limited, (Sona Systems) and Life Breweries company Limited from Heineken N.V. This followed Heineken’s acquisition of controlling interests in five breweries in Nigeria from Sona Group in January 2011. Sona Systems’ two breweries in Ota and Kaduna, and Life Breweries in Onitsha have now become part of Nigerian Breweries Plc, together with the three brands: Goldberg lager, Malta Gold and Life Continental lager.

In 2014,NB Plc  got approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the respective shareholders of both Nigerian Breweries Plc and Consolidated Breweries Plc to merge the operations of both companies. The merger became final on December 31, 2014 . Following the successful merger, NB Plc has  now  three additional breweries in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Awo-Omamma in Imo State and Makurdi in Benue State. The merger also brought an additional seven brands into our portfolio.

Thus, from that humble beginning in 1946, the company has now grown into a Brewing Company with 11 breweries, 2 malting plants and 26 Sales depots from which our high quality products are distributed to all parts of Nigeria.

Nigerian Breweries Plc has a growing export business which covers global sales and marketing of our brands and dates back to 1986. NB Plc offers sales, logistics and marketing support to make our brands shelf-ready in international markets, including world-class outlets such as TESCO and ASDA Stores in the United Kingdom. Her brands are available in over thirteen countries, across the United Kingdom, South Africa, Middle-East, West Africa and the United States of America.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

          Without doubt a high percentage of inefficiency and misunderstanding in organization can be traceable to inadequate and insufficient understanding of information.

Since communication is said to be the nervous system of any organized group. Davis (2002).  No doubt there are some problems associated with effective communication on organizational performance these include.

i.    Poor listening and premature evaluation when people do not listen carefully to what is being said to them, this will in turn result to premature evaluation

 ii.  Information overload: When information is too much it will lead to misinterpretation

iii.  Difference in status and power between the sender and the receiver of information is another barrier to effective communication.

iv. Selective perception: people tend to perceive what they expect to perceive in communication, it means that they hear what they want to hear and ignore other relevant information.

v.   Attitude: This is the predisposition of an act or not to act in certain way. It is a mental position regarding a fact or state. Clearly, if people have made up their minds, they cannot objectively listen to what is said. According to Katz (2000) he stipulated that the fundamental problems in communication arise from two assumptions.

(a) On the part of the speaker or writer

(b) On the part of the listener or reader.

1.3     Research Questions 

          Undoubtedly an effective communication in an organization is the strategy for enhancing and directing the performance of any organization in this present day complex and competitive environment that not withstanding the following questions will be asked.

(a)  Does effective communication affect the performance of an organization?

(b) How can organizational performance be enhanced by effective communication?

(c)  What is the impact of the environment on both inflow and outflow of communication in the organization?

(d) What are the major factors responsible for the difficulties encountered in the interpersonal communication between top level managers and lower level managers?

This research question will be answered in the objective of the study.

1.4     Objectives of the Study

          The specific objective of the study is to determine and evaluate on the strategies of enhancing organizational performance through effective communication. The specific objectives of the study include.

i.             To examine if effective communication has effect on organizational performance.

ii.           To ascertain if organization environment affect communication process

iii.        To verify if communication difficulties affect various management cadre in the organization.

1.5            Research Hypotheses 

In this research work some hypothesis are formulated by the use of the null and the alternative hypothesis. For the purpose of testing. The null hypothesis is denoted by Ho, while the alternative hypothesis is denoted by Hi:

1.     Hypothesis One

Ho: Effective communication does not contribute to organizational performance.

Hi: Effective communication contributes to Organizational performance.

2.     Hypothesis Two

Ho:  Organizational environment does not affect organization communication process

Hi: Organizational environment does affect organization communication process

3.     Hypothesis Three

Ho: A Communication difficulty does not affect various management levels in organization.

Hi: communication difficulties affect various management levels in organization.

1.6            Significance of the Study

i.       The research work will be of immense benefit to various forms of organization in Nigeria at the conclusion of this research work, both top and low level managers in Nigeria organization would be able to view communication as a means by which people are linked in an organization to achieve their common objective.

ii.     This research work will be of importance to Nigerians because it would describe the various methods techniques and means by which effective communication as a strategy for enhancing organizational performance.

iii.  More so, this study would produce an insight for top middle and low level managers in organizations in Nigeria to understand the importance of effective communication and ensure observance of this for optimal performance.

iv.  The research work would be a useful source of materials for information, teaching and for future research purposes.

v.     Finally this study will assist in knowing the benefit to be enjoyed and derived that really emphasizes on the concept of organizational communication as a strategy for its organizational growth and performance.

1.7     Scope of the Study     

The research work is to study the effectiveness of communication as a strategy for enhancing organizational performance with regard to Nigerian Breweries Plc.

The scope of this study is not intended to embrace in detail all that may have been required to develop the topic of the study because of its broad and its inherent difficulties associated with obtaining data because of time constraints – which will hamper a useful detailed development of the research topic.

                   More so, the studies carried out so far are

(a)  The reaction of top management staff to effective communication

(b) The process that can enhance effective communication in organization.

(c)  How can effective communication enhance organizational performance?

(d) Factors that account for the achievement and failure of organization

1.8            Limitations of the Study

NB Plc is a very large company  with well over five thousand employees . Therefore to carry out an aggregate study of the flow of effective communication as a strategy for enhancing organizational performance will be a tedious task and requires much time, but this constraint was mitigated against by carrying out the survey across the various locations and departments in the organization.

1.9     Operational Definition of Terms

1.        Communication: is the transfer of information from one person to another

2.        Organization: An enterprise/business entity.

3.        Performance: The rate at which something works

4.        Management: People or persons in charge of organization.

5.        Top level Management: Refers to the heads of any organization

6.        Middle level/management:  This group consists of the personnel accountants and marketing officers this group is answerable to the top level management.

7.        Lower level management: This group carries most of the information both to the top level and middle level management and they are referred to as the supervisory level.

8.        Subordinates: are directly involved in coordinating the activities of management employees 

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