Why is downward communication in organizations sometimes problematic

Human communication in everyday life: Explanations and applications. This definition can be easily broken down into a series of characteristics: source, message, channel, and receiver Wrench, J. Through downward communication, managers communicate organizational goals, policies, procedures, orders, instructions, decisions etc. In the process of downward communication, messages of the top executive reach to the lower levels moving through the chain of hierarchy.

Downward communication can be of written or oral. Written forms of downward communication are manuals, handbook, notices, electronic news displays etc. There are two primary ways that the accuracy of a message can be distorted. First, some messages are simply based on inaccurate information. For example, a manager who hears a false rumour and then passes the rumour on to her or his subordinates has passed on inaccurate information.

The second way messages can contain inaccurate information is as a result of multiple people in the communication chain Redding, W. When discussing adequacy, there are two possible extremes that managers could swing to: communication under load and communication overload. Communication underload occurs when subordinates are not provided enough information to complete their jobs.

Wrench The second problem associated with adequacy of information involves communication overload, or when subordinates are provided too much information to complete their jobs.

In an ideal work environment, supervisors will function as gatekeepers of information and make sure that adequate information is passed on to a subordinate to help the subordinate excel in her or his job.

Unfortunately, some supervisors do not know how to function as gatekeepers, so they pass along any information they receive to their subordinates without filtering information that is not useful for their subordinates Huseman, R. Resolving communication problems 2. Many organizations have suggestion boxes placed around the organization and encourage employees to provide suggestions on how to improve processes or the work environment.

Instead of looking for suggestions or in addition to , the question box provides an opportunity for employees to ask questions or request information.

A virtual question box may also be used. A virtual question box is an online anonymous location where employees and managers can submit questions from any networked computer without physically dropping them in the publicly placed box. The key to success with this intervention is to take questions seriously and provide very prompt feedback e. Meetings may be a good place to summarize the questions and provide answers when appropriate.

Or, the questions and answers can be posted on a bulletin board. For example, most meetings in organizations end with the meeting leader asking if anyone has any questions. We encourage managers and supervisors to move that question to the beginning of each meeting. This simple switch tells employees that 6. By quickly responding to their concerns and informational needs, their perception of the communication concern in the organization will likely change. Employees are often hesitant to interrupt their busy boss for small things such as information needs.

Managers who provide opportunities for casual work conversation actually help employees feel needed and comfortable with sharing their information needs.

To do this, managers should work alongside staff, take them to lunch, walk to their car after work together, etc. Here are some general suggestions for how to run a better meeting. First, try to plan meetings well in advance to maximize efficiency. The meeting organizer should send out an agenda and supporting materials before the meeting. Assign time limits for discussion items on the agenda in order to avoid lengthy deviations from the meeting purpose. Second, make certain that clear ground rules are established for how meetings should run in the organization e.

Meetings with structure foster greater participation from attendees. Third, ,ask for feedback from meeting leaders and attendees on their overall satisfaction with meetings, the effectiveness of organizational meetings, as well as their ideas for improving the ground rules, agenda development, and attendee participation Robbins, S.

So, management that incorporates a routine downward communication strategy has the right idea. Internal communication from management can help prevent silos by delegating duties and policy across departments and depending upon the tone of messaging can make management more approachable.

However, there are some known issues with downward communication. Specific details could be left out or altered to benefit the person delivering the messaging. Downward communication, in its purest form, does not leave room for an immediate response from subordinates, and the result is that one-way messaging can come off authoritative and closed off to feedback. Also, because of the number of eyes who need to see the communication, downward communication can be a slow-moving process. Upward Communication: The Importance of Management Buy-In When a robust upward communication culture exists in a company, it motivates employees to feel they can share feedback about company processes and culture with upper management.

Upward communication is one of the primary indicators of a healthy level of employee engagement. One of the most critical factors in keeping employees engaged is encouraging an environment where employees can come to managers about any concerns they have.

If the culture is important, then upward communication can aid overall creativity and make employees feel they have a voice in approaching company goals and objectives. While there are many positives to this form of communication, there are some issues that management needs to address to implement any upward communication strategies effectively.

If an openness to employee ideas or suggestions is not uniform throughout middle and upper management, then employees could fear retribution for bringing any complaints or constructive criticism to top level management. Distortion of messaging is also a problem here.

If immediate managers are not comfortable with the message from their employees, upper management could hear a different messaging than the one intended. Also, top-level executives could entirely miss out on suggestions, complaints, or criticisms if middle and lower managers are unwilling to deliver the communications.

In conclusion we can say that Downward communication ties together the entire organization and ensures the achievement of organizational goals. Though downward communication provides many advantages to the organization, it is not free limitations. Its main limitations or disadvantages are discussed below:.

From the above discussion, it appears that downward communication is not always effective and successful. Therefore, along with downward communication, managers should use other forms of communication.

If you want to learn more, I suggest you check out our article on how to improve your communication: 17 ways to improve your communication. Downward communication can be passed along in many ways of course, especially these days. It can be verbal communication, e-mails, presentations, videos, or another form. When an organization grows it will eventually be impossible for the top leader to communicate in a good, effective , and frequent way with the entire organization.

Imagine a company with employees in 3 different locations — the CEO cannot and is not expected to communicate individually with each and every one of the employees in such a situation. Instead, the organization structure is normally used. Imagine this two hundred employee company is divided into the following departments: Sales, Warehousing, Purchasing, and Administration. In order to pass a message to everybody in the company, the CEO could utilize traditional downward communication and inform the heads of these departments.

These department heads would then communicate this to their direct reporting mid-level managers, who in the end will inform the employees furthest down in the organizational hierarchy.

It really is as simple as that. There are several problems with downward communication, and I have personally experienced many of them.

Free E-Book! So, how can you as a communicator and as a leader be able to mitigate some of these disadvantages? There are a few tips in this article, but I strongly suggest you read our article on 17 tips for improved communication as well.