Communication Audit Poewer Point

Naval Surface Warfare Center

Indian Head, MD

Prepared by

Professor:

BCOM 5203

July 28, 2017

Internal communication is an essential tool to inform the staff and members of activities in the organization. The primary objective of any organization is building a good internal communication strategy. To be able to assess the effective mode of communication that the company is using, you need to do an assessment and also conduct an audit of the organization. It is vital since it helps in getting support from the staff. It also provides an excellent and efficient workplace with great collaboration.

Figure A

Figure A illustrates what encompasses business communication in an organization.

Board members of the Naval Surface Warfare Center saw it necessary to come up with a communication audit committee to make a report on communication for the organization. The primary purpose of the report was to seek for facts and also opinions and come up with recommendations to improve external and internal communication in the organization. Effective communication is a tool that enhances efficiency in the company. The primary source of my information was based on questionnaires which were given out to ten members of the organization. Below are the results obtained from the questionnaires.

Figure 1 chart for all the employees their position

They are the higher number of Personnel which constitute to 90% of all employees. The second in number is managers with 10% of total number. Personnel employees are the list of the number.

This chart shows the total number of people who took the questionnaires were twenty; 8 females and 12 males. M, P, and S symbolize managers, personnel, and supervisors respectively. The letters F and M represent male, and female respectively.

Fig: information flow

According to figure 2 the circulation of information, 8/20 or 40% of the members said it was effective, 12/20 or 60% need improvement and none for very efficient.

Figure 3 showing academic level of employees

Out of the members who took the questionnaires, 12/20 or 60% have B. SC degrees, 3/20 or 15% has masters, 2/20 or 10% hours towards masters and 3/20 or 15% is in the other category.

Figure 4 shows used means of communication.

People who prefer emails are more utilize followed the percentage of person to person and then IMessage. Most of the members use email and memos as types of communication to the other employees.

The Figure 5 shows chart show preferred modes of communication to subordinate.

During communication to their subordinates, findings indicate that 19/20 or 95% of the member’s use emails, 16/20 or 80% prefer person to person talk and only 2/20 or 10% uses I messaging. Note the employee selected that one preference in other to improve their communication skills.

Also, 19/20 or 95% of the member’s company location is in Indian while 1/20 or 5 % of the members are not. Also, according to the questionnaire, there is no direct supervision in the organization. Most of the people in the group have an experience Two years and above. The best thing about flows of information in the body is that it always reaches the right receiver despite the time spent.

The type of communication used in Naval Surface Warfare Center involves video conferencing, telephone conversation, face to face conversation, email, handheld devices, blogs, formal written documents, and spreadsheets

Figure 6 below illustrates the cost of using email as a means of communication. It shows it is cost efficient and quick. Weekly emails work like weekly meetings. The purpose of weekly emails is to explain or remind you the tasks that are ahead of you that week. You can add the meetings that are to be attended that week in the email weekly. Therefore, findings show that incorporating email is a useful communication tool.

Figure 6

Additionally, Naval Surface Warfare Center uses protocol during communication, whether through email or telephone conversation. My Organization reads 80% of the emails with a different tone than intended by the writer as shown in figure 7 below. If its intention was to be funny, then it may appear to some as dismissive. Therefore, the Naval Surface Warfare Center has kept in mind the possible risks and has stepped in to avoid any disaster.

However, findings have shown various ways in which information reaches the member and staff.

Figure 7

According to the diagram, face to face conversation is the best method to deliver information to staff. As well as video conferencing and telephone conversation. The reason is when conversing there is direct feedback between the sender and receiver. The organization orientation of decoded information is in a right manner. However, despite using email, handheld devices, and blogs as the quickest method to transfer information the richness in information is medium. The receiver may not get the information in time or not understand well the content of the message. Additionally, the formal written documents and spreadsheets are the poorest method to deliver information.

Improving communication within an organization enables employees to be engaged. The introduction of a communication blitz is a good approach to communicating good messages effectively throughout the organization. During the implementation of a project, continuous communication is paramount for the success of the team. The purpose of the message is to help manage the change within an organization. Below are ways to improve communication in an organization.

The first approach to improving communication is following a sequence, as illustrated in figure 8

Figure 8

The leadership/ seniors develop a brief message and divide front line supervisors into equal groups. The leaders and supervisors discuss the information and educate the employees with the same message. The leaders then ensure there is no retention of the employees or staff. Once the establishment put in place communication measures , the message will develop.

Secondly, the organization should use multiple channels to deliver information. The most efficient way to covey information is to ensure you send your message through various means. Mostly, the channels used include meetings, face to face conversations, memos, letter, and telephone conversations. The process ensures the message is disseminated and not relying on a single channel.

After broadcasting your message, the organization needs to focus on listening that is a vital tool for communication. One way to focus on listening is using reflective listening skills and repetition. Also, use of nonverbal communication, body posture and focusing on the partner to listen first before getting your message across is a good way to improve communication.

After listening, and fully understanding your partner, it is vital to get your message across, the exact way it is intended. One way to do that is by speaking honestly, openly and on point. Ensure you use terms that can be understood by various people from different backgrounds so that it can be accurately received.

Lastly, handle communication problems that are prone to arise at during interaction by humans in the organization. Problems involve conflicts, cultural differences, and misunderstanding. By managing this issue and resolving them, ensures the communication in the organization is effectively received.

Findings show the importance of the use of a communications audit to determine and also improve the value of communication within the organization. A review involves steps that include identifying major areas of communication within the company. Major areas require strengths and weaknesses, for example, the use of a telephone is force and emails are this weakness. It shows that Naval Surface Warfare Center does not use an intranet, thus the need for communication audit. Below are steps for the verification process.

Analyze the existing means of communication. During this step, we gather the communication methods that are used to reach your audience and evaluate them individually. Evaluation helps to know whether they are useful, accessible and give information in time. The organization can come up with a master chart as an analysis of the methods used for communication. Additionally, you can get information concerning the best methods to be employed by involving your staff.

Naval Surface Warfare Center should conduct interviews to ensure that the assessment reflects issues of the organization's success. The survey instrument helps to know the purpose communication in an organization. Also, to inform the team members what they expect from them, goals of the company that involves contact know the weakness and strengths of communication and visualize ideal communication strategies.

The third process is to provide management and employee focus interviews. This emphasis interview provides a platform to compare the attitude of the employee and management. The employees are divided into groups and send a representative to represent them in the meeting. It also helps in information flow since the management will be able to know why sometimes he gates full information and sometimes no information.

Also, the organization should conduct a communication survey regularly. The study helps in measuring future improvements and identifies differences when it comes to various audiences. Through this review, we know how many people get the information thus need for improvement.

Lastly, Naval Surface Warfare Center should develop a need based communication plan. This project serves as a baseline for developing communications process since it is research and findings based. During an introduction of the scheme, it should report results that help to derive recommendations on communications.

In conclusion, conducting a communication audit is not simple and needs a good strategy. However, the results are good since it enhances effective communication in the organization. Therefore, adopting these measures of improving and recommendation, then it will improve the employee’s engagement in the organization.

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Corrado, F. (2008). Communicating with employees improving organizational communication. S.l: Axzo Press.

Harris, T. & Nelson, M. (2008). Applied organizational communication theory and practice in a global environment. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.