Unit VIII Mini ProjectFor this assignment, you will create a communication strategy that fosters change and innovation in an organization. Explain the context in which it occurs and the options that a

Communication in Google

Columbia Southern University

For effective communication, the managers and leaders in the organization should navigate through the internal and external barriers to communication. Managers and leaders, therefore apply various methods of communication to facilitate effectiveness in organizational operations. The last assignment was on the communication strategy applied by Google. In this assignment, the ways that Google leaders use communication to guide their employees, investors or customers will be covered comprehensively.

Google is one of the companies that greatly utilize the modern technology in their communication. Google doesn’t rely on a single communication channel or strategy. Google applies a mix up of communication strategies (Gupta, 2018). When it comes to communicating with the employees, customers, and investors, the Google managers apply platforms such as the Gmail, Google Chat, Google Voice, Google+, and Self-Publishing. Communication in Google ensures that the issues affecting the employees, investors, and customers are resolved effectively. It is only through effective communication that the loyalty and trust of the customers, employees, and investors are won and maintained. Google ensures that the roles and expectations of every employee are communicated in advance for efficiency in the production process. The investors and Google managers usually have monthly and annual meetings where they strategize on ways of developing and expanding Google operations. Through the social media, Google customers are always engaged with the operations and products of the company. Any issues affecting the customers are settled through the social media via a video call, texting or any other appropriate means. Communication is the tool that coordinates all the activities of Google, and without it, the organization cannot operate effectively.

In every week, the Google leaders always meet with the employees in the town hall. During the meetings, the employees usually discuss with the leaders the factors affecting their job productivity and satisfaction. The leaders and the employees discuss the issues and then come up with favorable solutions. It is also during these weekly meetings that the employees have briefed on the strategies of the organization as well as the performance (Kelly, 2015). Additionally, the plans for the whole week are highlighted by the leaders during these weekly meetings. The channel that is used here is a direct conversation. The employees and leaders communicate directly as a group during the weekly meetings. Face-to-face communication is an effective communication strategy as the issues affecting the employees are settled effectively. Direct communication is more appealing as it accommodates facial expressions as well as easy mastery of emotions. Direct communication is a traditional communication strategy but it has never lost its value in organizations.

Assuming that the managers and the employees were not having face-to-face communications, the message sent by the former would not be similar. The managers’ response to the questions raised by the employees in the meetings depends on verbal and non-verbal cues such as emotions as well as the facial expressions. Research shows that people can change their message in regard to the identified traits of the receiver (Vangelisti, 2018). The managers at Google, therefore, have a chance to reply to the questions of the employees more openly based on their interpretations of the verbal and non-verbal cues. This is not possible with other methods of communication such as Gmail, phone call and Messaging as they don’t accommodate all verbal and non-verbal cues.

It is evident that communication is the backbone that controls the organizational operations at Google. It is only through communication that the loyalty, trust, satisfaction and productivity of the employees, investors as well as customers are guaranteed. Google ensures that there is the existence of multiple communication channels that aid in meeting the individual differences of every stakeholder. Google needs to maintain their communication culture for efficiency in their operations.

References

Gupta. (2018). Communication networks at google. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/yupimdfreak/communication-networks-at-google

Kelly, S. (2015). Book Review: How Google WorksSchmidtE.RosenbergJ. (2014). How Google Works. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing. 304 pp. International Journal Of Business Communication, 52(3), 338-339. doi: 10.1177/2329488415583394

Steyn, B. (2017). From strategy to corporate communication strategy: A conceptualisation. Journal Of Communication Management, 8(2), 168-183. doi: 10.1108/13632540410807637

Vangelisti, A. (2018). On the importance of communication research. Communication Education, 65(4), 501-504. doi: 10.1080/03634523.2016.1206659