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Communication and the managers job:
Experts consider communication to be a key process underlying all aspects of organizational operations. Contemporary scholars variously refer to organizational communication as the social gluethat continues to keep the organization tied together and as the essence of organization. Writing many years ago, the well-known management theorist and former New Jersey Bell Telephone president Chester Bernard said, “The structure, extensiveness and scope of the organization are almost entirely determined by communication techniques.” This strong statement makes sense considering that supervisors spend as much as 80 percent of their time engaging in some form of communication, such a speaking or listening to others or writing to and reading material from others (Baron & Greenberg, 2000).
Hence, communication has an essential part to play in a managers job as well. Managers spend at least 80 percent of every working day in direct communication with others. In other words, 48 minutes of every hour is spent in meetings, on the telephone, or talking informally while walking around. The other 20 percent of a typical managers time is spent doing desk work, most of which is also communication in the form of reading and writing. (Daft, 1997)
Communication permeates every management function: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. For example, when managers perform the planning function, they gather information; write letters, memos and reports; and then meet with other managers to explain the plan. When managers lead, they communicate with subordinates to motivate them. When managers organize, they gather information about the state f the organization and communicate a new structure to them. Communication skills are a fundamental part of every managerial activity. (Daft, 1997)