Content uploaded by Owen Hargie
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Owen Hargie on Sep 20, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
Managing Your Communications: A Key Determinant of Organisational Success.
Abstract
Reference:
Hargie, O. (2007) Managing Your Communications: A Key Determinant of Organisational Success. In R. Karlsdottir (ed.) Læring, Kommunikasjon og Ledesle i Organisasjoner, Tapir Akademisk Forlag, Trondheim, Norway.
In this chapter, the key role of organisational communication is explored by examining the following questions:
What do we mean by communication?
What are organisations?
How does communication flow in organisations?
What are the functions of communication in organisations?
What are the benefits of effective organisational communication?
Can communication be measured and assessed?
What do employees want in terms of communication?
Why do many managers ignore communication?
This study is undertaken to investigate the direct and indirect (through effective communication) effect of transformational leadership on project success. The relationship between transformational leadership and project success has been established empirically. But less work has been done to understand the processes through which this relationship exists. This study is undertaken to address this issue and put forward the mediating role of effective communication as a possible explanation of the relationship between transformational leadership and project success. Data were collected from 130 construction project managers of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Gilgit, Pakistan. The findings of this study show that effective communication partially mediates between transformational leadership and project success. Based on these findings we talk about the theoretical and practical implications of this study.
The article presents an exploratory qualitative study of how managers of ambulance stations experience communication with employees working as authorized paramedics. The aim was to understand how the managers perceived challenges in this communication, and how they thought it was possible to meet these challenges.
Method
The study involved semi-structured interviews with 20 managers, supplemented with observation studies in ambulance stations. The interviews were analyzed on the basis of a methodological reflective lifeworld approach, and compared to the participant observations of interaction between managers and employees.
Results
The managers thought it was difficult to secure good communication. The reasons varied, but everybody referred to lack of time, knowledge gaps and unpredictable, hectic work schedules. This implied that employee dialogue often had to be brief and direct, and that it was difficult to conform to ideals of extensive communication. In the light of these challenges, the managers held that it was important to focus on attitudes, interpersonal relations and team building in order to develop well-functioning services.
Discussion
It is challenging to implement modern ideals of communicative human resource management (HRM) in prehospital management. Practical limits justify communication practices with elements from top-down management (TDM). In recent management theory, TDM has been conceived of as a brutal and old-fashioned communication model, but it is sometimes necessary to use principles from TDM in prehospital management.
Conclusion
In management theory, HRM is often presented as a communication model that health managers should conform to. This study suggests that HRM should not be implemented in all areas of health management. It is important to develop models that combine elements from HRM and TDM with ethical frameworks and team-building approaches, in order to capture the reality of health care services where lack of time and other resources are salient aspects. Such models can help managers to cope with difficult situations and should, therefore, be a focus area in health management theory.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.