What might explain why people who are perceived as strong leaders avoid leaving a paper trail of writings

Communication in organizations, broadly speaking, is the transactional, symbolic process in which the activities of a social collective are coordinated to achieve individual and collective goals. The modern field has a more recent lineage through business information studies published in the 1930s through the 1950s. Until then, only handful of people had a particular interest in speaking and writing in business settings. Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon wrote in 1947 about "organization communications systems", saying communication is "absolutely essential to organizations". In 1954, Chris Argyris published Personality and Organization, which singled out "organizational communication" for special attention. Argyris made the case that what passed for organizational communication at the time was based on unstated and indefensible propositions such as "management knows best" and "workers are inherently stupid and lazy." He accused the emerging field of relying on untested gimmicks designed to trick employees into doing management's will.

            Some of the main assumptions underlying much of the early organizational communication research were:

• Humans act rationally. Sane people behave in rational ways, they generally have access to all of the information needed to make rational decisions they could articulate, and therefore will make rational decisions, unless there is some breakdown in the communication process.

• Formal logic and empirically verifiable data ought to be the foundation upon which any theory should rest. All we really need to understand communication in organizations is (a) observable and replicable behaviors that can be transformed into variables by some form of measurement, and (b) formally replicable syllogisms that can extend theory from observed data to other groups and settings.

• Communication is primarily a mechanical process, in which a message is constructed and encoded by a sender, transmitted through some channel, then received and decoded by a receiver. Distortion, represented as any differences between the original and the received messages, can and ought to be identified and reduced or eliminated.

• Organizations are mechanical things, in which the parts (including employees functioning in defined roles) are interchangeable. What works in one organization will work in another similar organization. Individual differences can be minimized or even eliminated with careful management techniques.

• Organizations function as a container within which communication takes place. Any differences in form or function of communication between that occurring in an organization and in another setting can be identified and studied as factors affecting the communicative activity.

            Herbert Simon introduced the concept of bounded rationality which challenged assumptions about the perfect rationality of communication participants. He maintained that people making decisions in organizations seldom had complete information, and that even if more information was available, they tended to pick the first acceptable option, rather than exploring further to pick the optimal solution. Reaching a wider audience, including seniors, means thinking broadly about what constitutes communication and how best to communicate. A first step is to define the means or "medium" to reach clients and customers.

            Businesses communicate largely through advertising and written information. But they also communicate each time they answer the telephone, greet clients at an office, branch or store, or broadcast over a public address system. One example is that in a medical clinic, pay attention not only to written or illustrative material handed out during a visit, but also to the telephone answering system, the directional signage, the comfort of the seating, the acoustics of the waiting room, and the interpersonal listening and communication skills of doctors, nurses and reception staff. Another example is when announce a change in a government program or service, mass media advertising, widely distributed pamphlets or brochures, or cheque or utility bill inserts might reach a sizeable proportion of seniors.

            The medium should suit not only the audience but also the nature of the message. Media are not created equal, and research shows that success in reaching target audiences and implanting messages effectively varies widely. Face-to-face or telephone contact is often the first and sometimes the only communication (availability). This contact can have far-reaching consequences on health, and is especially critical for people with low literacy.

            Personal communication is also important for customer relations and client service staff in large service businesses. For these organizations, that first contact may mean the difference between a sale and a lost customer. In some circumstances, communicating through people that seniors trust and pay attention to (they are sometimes referred to as "key informants") may be more effective than formal communication techniques. Research has found that when older people need help with a problem, they often turn to informal information networks such as family members and trusted friends and neighbors. Researchers speculate that reluctance to use formal sources to find needed information or services may relate to communication barriers like these:

            The best way to communicate varies from one community to another - because trusted information sources and channels of communication vary from one to the next - but the experience of various communities across the country has demonstrated the value of some methods.

            Meetings and similar gatherings can be a practical way to convey information to groups of seniors - for example, at a seniors' centre or in an apartment building with a large senior population, because of its emphasis on exchanging information orally and in a social setting. A meeting also offers the opportunity to compare notes later with others who were present to confirm or clarify the information they took in.

            Use of the telephone to find and convey information is a highly personal choice. Many people find the telephone is essential for staying in touch with family and friends and maintaining social networks. But many also find it less satisfactory as a means of obtaining information if they can't speak to a real person or can do so only after negotiating an automated answering system. In addition, some have problems using the telephone because of hearing loss (noise). This raises serious considerations about whether the telephone is an appropriate choice for communicating with a senior audience and, once chosen, about the design of a system intended to serve senior users. A toll-free number as a source of information about government programs or services may not be effective, for example, if it connects to a pushbutton-activated voice message system that does not accommodate callers with rotary phones or those who prefer to speak to a real person.

            Print has the advantages of allowing skilled readers to absorb information at their own pace and to retain the item for future reference. Print can also be tailored for an audience with more limited literacy skills through plain language, design and message development. Any attempt at simplifying the task (large letters, simple words, etc.) can make the message available to a wider audience. As we have seen, however, written material - even plain-language material designed for maximum readability - is not always the preferred source. Moreover, written material may be of limited use to reach people with low literacy skills or limited vision, or to communicate with members of cultural communities who are literate in a mother tongue but not in an international language. Finally, if print documents are the chosen medium for the message, it should also consider conveying the information in large print or in alternative formats - braille, audio or video cassettes, computer diskette.

            Forms are another type of written communication widely used. Many large organizations - governments, health care facilities, financial institutions, insurance companies - use forms to communicate and exchange information with clients and customers. Forms filled out incorrectly or incompletely can significantly affect the intended results. Correction of these errors is also a source of huge human resource costs for business and government - extra time spent answering phone calls from confused customers, postage and effort returning incomplete forms for more information, wasted forms discarded because of mistakes, and additional time and cost to process long, complex forms. Forms therefore require careful design to ensure that they capture the necessary data and convey vital information to intended users.

            Radio is a fast-paced medium, where listeners generally have to acquire information at the pace set by the broadcast. But radio could be effective in reaching parts of the older population, some of whom are devoted radio listeners. This is especially true if declining visual acuity has reduced the appeal of print and television as means of staying abreast of current and community affairs. A radio message must be designed carefully, bearing in mind that the older person's ability to hear and understand the message is affected by the pitch of an announcer's voice, the speed at which the message is delivered, and the presence of background sound, which can interfere with receipt of the main message.

            People watch television, but messages may not always be effective because this medium doesn't allow viewers to set the pace at which they acquire information. This is important in terms of the capacity to absorb information and retain it for future reference, which a fast-moving 30- or 60-second television announcement cannot promote very effectively.

            Videotape can also be used as an alternative form of communication, and it must be as carefully designed as a radio or television broadcast or a public address announcement, with deliberate attention to the types of voices used, the speed of message delivery, repetition of key points, avoidance of background noise, and use of graphics and action sequences to "show" viewers instead of "telling" them what you want them to know.

            Airports, bus and train stations, hospitals, shopping malls - all use public address (PA) systems to inform visitors, and some have audio/visual displays as well. They do not always communicate effectively if background noise interferes with the ability to hear or understand the message or if announcers speak too fast or don't speak clearly. The softer consonants - s, f - can be particularly confusing for someone with reduced hearing if words are not pronounced distinctly. Using a hearing aid may not help with receipt of pa announcements.

            Applying effective communication principles to the way products and services are advertised and packaged is a vast field of its own. The advertiser's knowledge of the audience and empathy toward customers can spell the difference between a marketing triumph and a flop.

            The design of bank machines and other automated services (such as museum displays and government kiosks dispensing information and license renewals) should take into account the sensory, mobility and agility changes associated with aging. Design considerations include not only physical specifications (height, glare reduction on screens, size of buttons and screen messages), but also the communication or interaction between the customer/client and the machine, such as the vocabulary used in visual or oral messages and the length of time needed to grasp the message and to react by pushing the appropriate button.

            The Internet can be a very effective way to reach a small (though growing) segment of the senior population. Web site design and online documentation present many of the same challenges as print and other media, such as telephone answering systems. The design guidelines that apply to print - type sizes, contrast between type and background, avoidance of dots and wavy lines - also apply to web site and online documentation. As well, avoiding unnecessarily complex web site structures makes just as much sense in cyberspace as it does for publications and automated telephone answering systems.

            Nowhere is technology having a greater effect on the workplace than in the area of communication media. Facsimile, electronic mail, and cellular phones all decrease the need for travel. Wireless technology is also being increasingly employed. This will drastically reduce response and delivery times. Oral communications offer advantage of speed and quick feedback. Although written messages are more slowly encoded, they allow the communicator to use more precise language. It avoids confusion and ambiguity in interpretation. Written materials also provide a permanent copy of the communication that can be stored and retrieved for later purposes.

            Wagner says that some leaders unwittingly contribute to the problem of getting messages distorted, by shooting the messenger or surrounding themselves with ‘yes’ people. In this context the managers receive only the positive feedback on performance of the organization, setting the manager up for future failure.

Reference

Wagner, john A (2005) Organizational Behavior: Securing Competitive Advantage, 5th edition, Prentice Hall.

About the Author

The author is Dr. Chandana Jayalath. He is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with nearly 18 years total experience in pre and post contract quantity surveying and contracts administration, teaching and research functions including cost advice, claims and contractual review, negotiations, interpretations and dispute settlement related to infrastructure projects. Writing articles on management is his hobby that aims to reflect his own experience with multi national companies