Page 259 - Business Principles and Management

Unit 3

10.2 Corporate Communications

Goals Terms
• Explain how corporate culture • communication • grapevine
influences formal and informal network • nominal group
communication networks. • formal communi- technique (NGT)
• Describe how to conduct effective cation networks • brainstorming
meetings. • informal communi-
cation networks

ach business has its own internal culture that influences the way formal and
informal communications occur. In this section, you will learn how commu-
Enication networks influence the communication process. You will also learn
how to conduct effective meetings.

Corporate Culture

As you learned in Chapter 4, culture is shared values, beliefs, and behavior
patterns of groups of people. The group may be a corporation, a nation, or
any other organized group. An organization, such as a corporation, develops
its own corporate culture or personality. Factors such as the type of business,
the personalities of its leaders, and its operating procedures create this corpo-
rate culture, which its members understand.
The culture of a corporation influences the communication climate. Cul-
tures differ widely among firms. Cultures may be very closed, very open, or
somewhere in between. A closed culture is one that relies on top-down decision
making and adheres to numerous rules and strict disciplining for violations
of established procedures. Rigid rule making and authoritarian leadership can
breed distrust and secrecy while discouraging creativity and decision making
at lower levels. In such organizations, communications tend to be quite formal.
Experts refer to this type of organization as having a closed communication
system.
When trust and confidence prevail among employees, an organization is said
to have an open communication system. This type of culture encourages creativ-
ity and problem solving at all levels and supports communication and informa-
tion sharing. Trust, supportiveness, risk taking, and decision making influence
whether an employee will like or dislike working for a company. In turn, these
factors help determine how productive employees will be.
Most organizations have neither a fully open nor fully closed culture. Some-
times a business may change its culture. A comfortable culture for one person,
however, may not be comfortable for another. Some employees prefer a culture
with primarily an open communication system, whereas others prefer a culture
with primarily a closed communication system. Employees often change jobs in
search of an organization that has a set of beliefs, values, and practices suited
to their needs.

246